OP3 - Oxidant and Particle Photochemical Processes above a Southeast Asian tropical rainforest
Principal Investigator: Mat Evans, Paul Palmer, Dwayne Heard, Mike Pilling
Start Date: Nov 2007
End Date: Nov 2010
Funded by: NERC
Abstract
Tropical forests account for over 50% of the World's forests (1.8 million ha) and act a massive source of matter and energy to the lower atmosphere. Tropical ecosystems account for almost half of global emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), which play an important role in oxidant chemistry in the troposphere and subsequently climate. The role of BVOCs in controlling chemical budgets and processes in the atmosphere on local, regional and global scales are poorly understood.
Professor Nick Hewitt ( University of Lancaster ) heads the OP3-Danum-08 consortium of 23 investigators (8 institutions) that will study the photochemistry and particle formation processes over the Danum Valley Field Centre in Sabah , Malaysian Borneo. The main aims of OP3 are 1) to understand how emissions of reactive BVOCs from a Southeast Asian tropical rainforest affect regional-scale production and processing of oxidants and particles in the troposphere, and 2) to better understand the impact of these processes on local, regional and global scale composition, chemistry and climate. This will be achieved by integrating ground-based, aircraft and satellite observations. OP3 runs between 2007-2010, with measurement campaigns during the Spring and Autumn of 2008.